Joakim Noah ‘not a fan’ of coach Fred Hoiberg, could the Bulls trade the big man this season?

The Chicago Bulls have played respectable this season but are currently on a three-game losing streak. With the team struggling for consistency, there are speculations that some Bulls are not happy with their first year head coach Fred Hoiberg and one such player is veteran big man Joakim Noah.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, naming an anonymous source, Noah is still unhappy with his role in the current Bulls line-up after losing his starting job at centre to Pau Gasol in the 2015-2016 season.

The same source also stated that while Noah is “not a distraction by any means” to his team, the veteran big man is “not the biggest fan” of Hoiberg, who took over the coaching reins in the last offseason and replaced long-time coach Tom Thibodeau.

Noah has played in 27 games this season and only one game as a starter. Coming off the bench for the first time in his NBA career, Noah is averaging career-low numbers in points (4.3 points per game) and minutes (21.9 minutes per game, about same in his rookies season). Noah also averages 8.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game.

The Bulls actually started 2016 perfect going 4-0 in their first four games of the new year. However, they suffered embarrassing losses the past three outings bowing down to the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards via blowouts and to the lowly Milwaukee Bucks, one of the worst Eastern Conference teams this season.

Noah will also be hitting free agency after the 2015-2016 season. The 30-year-old big man is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) during the summer and he is free to leave Chicago and sign with any other NBA team.

As a UFA, the Bulls have no chance to match any offer sheet for Noah and the franchise could look to trade him before the trade deadline so they can net someone in return via a trade rather than lose him in free agency during the summer.